Brotherhood
by hferg
Summary: As school starts again, John meets the Brotherhood. Meanwhile, Mystique plots revenge against the mutant who wounded her. SECOND STORY OF MY ONGOING SERIES, SEQUEL TO ARRIVAL! Rated M mostly for violence, with hints of romance.
1. Healing

_Author's Notes (A/N): Well, my first sequel is now being posted! This chapter is mostly filler and me introducing three mutants into the series. OK, one of them was mentioned in the first story, but still... I don't know how much they'll be featured in the future, much like Rogue from the first story, but I wanted to show that the Institute is not just the six or seven mutants that I have in almost every story._

_As for the title of this story, yes, the Brotherhood is going to be a major part of what happens, though, I don't think I'll be actually introducing them until chapter 3. This story MAY be longer than the first one, at least as far as chapters go, but I'm not 100% sure about that, since I've only story lined through chapter 3._

_As always, I'd like to send special thanks to Ian, Terri, and Hyde for their help with making this story, and all the others I write. I'd also like to mention that I'm going to be alternating between this story and my Final Fantasy one, putting a chapter of one of the stories up every week, time permitting. In other words, I'll have a new chapter every two weeks, and the weeks in between will be FF weeks._

_Disclaimer (AGAIN?): I don't own anything except the storyline and John (and any other O/Cs I put in)._

**Chapter 1- Healing**

A pair of young teens walked down the metallic silver halls that made up the basement levels of the mansion. They were discussing what they had just learned from Professor Xavier. "I don't know what his powers are, or even if he has any, luv. I just know that if the Professor said he's all right, then he's all right." The female had a definite Scottish accent to her voice. She was wearing a white t-shirt with blue pants. Her brown hair went halfway down her back as she turned to look at her companion.

"Yeah, but with everything going on, you think it's a good idea to be taking on more runaways?" The boy was definitely American. He had short brown hair, and a green and black shirt on, as well as dark blue denim jeans.

"He's not like us, you know."

"He's a mutant who's a runaway. The professor said so himself!" The boy was starting to get upset at his companion insinuating, in his opinion, that he was lying.

"Yes, but he's not a student, he's older than that."

The boy sighed as he realized that she was right. "I'm still not sure it's a good idea to be inviting random people in here, Rahne."

"The Professor would know if this guy's up to something, Jamie. He's not the greatest telepath in the world for nothing, you know." The girl smiled and laughed lightly at her comment.

"Careful what you say, you know he doesn't like you calling him that."

By now they'd reached the control room for the Danger Room, and Jamie opened the door and held it for Rahne to pass through. Inside the room was another teen, this one African American, and he turned to acknowledge the two. "You two got back from Moira's just in time."

"Hey Evan, new guy's in there? What's he running?" Jamie was curious and looked over the console into the room below. Inside the room, John was standing inside what appeared to be some sort of a dojo facing off against a group of five men. The mutant was wearing the same sweatshirt and pants that he'd worn in the fight with Logan a week earlier. In John's hands was a four foot long staff which he was using to attack and defend against the virtual enemies. As soon as he knocked one down and out, the enemy would disappear and be replaced after a few seconds by another one. "Logan's Endless Stream Program?"

"Yes, though he's not running it as hard as Logan does." Evan looked at the readout from the computer as he spoke. "He's only running it at about 70%."

"How long?" Rahne was as curious as Jamie, but she wasn't nearly as obvious about it.

"He set it for an hour, of which there's about two minutes left." Evan looked at John moving in the virtual room. "And before you ask, no, he's not going all out. Dr. McCoy won't let him, and he's asked me to make sure he obeys the Doctor's orders."

Jamie looked at Evan curiously. "Why not? What happened?"

Evan looked at the two younger mutants for a few seconds, considering how to respond to that. "What did Professor Xavier tell you about him?"

"Just that he arrived last Sunday night and he was going to be on staff for the foreseeable future." Jamie was more than happy to supply the information that Evan wanted.

"Well, the night after he arrived, he got into a fight with Mystique. Apparently she stabbed him and he injured her, but she managed somehow to get away, even with Logan after her."

"She stabbed him? Where?" Evan was used to Jamie's seemingly innocent curiosity, and instead of replying verbally, he simply pointed to Jamie's stomach.

"Wow, and he's STILL able to go at 70% in one of Logan's programs?" Now Rahne was looking out the window in amazement. "And he's not even using any powers?"

"Not actively, no." As Rahne and Jamie both looked at Evan like they didn't understand his comment, he elaborated. "Just because you aren't actively using your senses of smell and hearing doesn't mean they aren't still active, does it?"

"So, he has a power that's always on?"

Evan laughed and shook his head at Jamie's question. "It's a side effect of his mutation that's always active, even if he's not using it. I'm afraid that it's not my place to explain it any further than that. Perhaps when he's done, you can ask him. It shouldn't be much longer, anyway."

Down in the virtual room, John found himself surrounded by three soldiers, after having just disposed of a fourth. One of the three managed to get a punch past John's defenses, which sent him staggering off to the side a few steps. He quickly regained his balance and swung the staff around in a wide arc, catching two of the three goons square in the face with the end of it, knocking them out and causing them to dissolve.

The third goon rushed at John, attempting to strike him again, but the mutant was too fast. Gripping the staff with both hands, he jabbed the end of it in the gut of the attacker, before swinging sideways, catching the jaw of the now doubled-over man, and at the same time blocking a punch from another goon coming from the opposite direction. John quickly turned his attention to this new threat, spinning the staff around, knocking the man's feet out from under him, then bringing the weapon down on the man's chest, sending him away as well.

Another soldier was approaching from John's right. Taking a few steps, John jammed his staff into the ground, using it to pole vault into the man. However, in the middle of his jump, a metallic female voice came over the room's intercom. "Time up, ending simulation."

John was left hanging in mid-air as the staff disappeared from his hands, while he was still leaning on it. As a result, he ended up falling to the ground with a thud, having twisted so that he landed directly on the wound.

As John didn't get up right away, Evan assumed that he'd been injured. After a few seconds, though, John rolled onto his back and groaned, before pulling himself back to his feet. "Dammit, that was stupid. I should have been more aware of the time." He paused for a second, then looked at the window. He couldn't see anyone inside it, the window was tinted to be reflective like the rest of the room, thus invisible from within it. All the same, he knew that Evan was there. "What was the count?"

The two younger mutants looked at Evan who pointed a finger to his mouth, telling the two to be quiet, before he pressed a button to open up communication with the main room. "One hundred thirty-two."

"That's quite a bit off from Logan's score, isn't it?" The reply was almost immediate, John had apparently been aware of what the Canadian who designed the program was capable of doing at his current settings.

"Yes, but then again, he uses his abilities, you didn't."

"No, I didn't." He began to leave the room, but paused in the doorway. "If you want to introduce your two friends, you can bring them down to the locker room." With that, he left the room, and the door closed behind him.

Evan smirked and turned to his companions. Both of them were shocked that John had known they were in the room, since they had been perfectly still and silent. Evan tried, but failed to hold back a small amount of laughter. "He knew you two were here the moment you got to the mansion." The slightly older mutant pointed to his head.

"The professor told him?" Jamie was close, but not quite on target with his assumption.

"No, genius, he's psychic as well. Though, what did he mean when he said he didn't use his powers during the fight?"

Evan laughed again and stood up from his seat, heading out the door. "You can ask him that yourselves, if you want to come down and meet him." The two kids nodded and eagerly followed Evan out of the control room.

Inside the locker room, the three found John sitting on a bench, his head in his hands. He'd removed the gloves he had been wearing. At first they thought he may have fallen asleep, but he spoke to them without moving. "You two got back earlier than expected." He lowered his hands and turned his head to look at them after speaking, a slight smile on his face.

"We got an earlier flight. Something about a ticket mix up." Jamie shrugged his shoulders and held his hand out to the older mutant. "I'm Jamie Madrox."

John shook the boy's hand. "John Kerogi. Good to meet you." He then turned to Rahne. "You must be the one that was adopted by Dr. MacTaggart?"

"Aye, name's Rahne Sinclair." She took the offered hand. "So, you're psychic, obviously. What about offensive powers?"

John smirked at the three mutants, and held out his hand, palm up. In his palm, a small ball of flame appeared, causing Rahne and Jamie to gasp at it. As they watched, the ball left John's hand and began slowly floating around the room. The three others notice that as the fireball moved, John's eyes began to glow faintly. Evan was used to this, having seen it before, but the other two gasped at this development. John simply looked at them. "It's an uncontrollable side effect of my mutation. I usually wear sunglasses to cover it up." He looked back at the ball as it floated around the three mutants. "I suppose you could say I have a few unusual talents." John smiled as he glanced at the two youngest in the room. "What about you two? What are your abilities?"

The two looked at each other, nervous as to what to say. It was Rahne who spoke up first. "Well, I'm... I can transform into a wolf, or a wolf-human hybrid." She was obviously not exactly comfortable with telling this person she'd just met about her uniqueness.

John simply smiled at her, as the ball of flame began to hover over her head. "Well, that's not something I've heard of before. I suppose you also have the canine's enhanced senses, too?"

"Yes, it's more active when I'm in my partial or full wolf forms, but I do have a little bit of enhanced senses even now." John nodded and turned his attention to Jamie.

"And what about you?" As he spoke, the small ball began to hover over the mutant he was speaking to.

"I... well... I..." Jamie wasn't sure what to say his ability was, he didn't know how to properly describe it. John smirked at the boy, but after a few seconds of him struggling, John's eyes flashed slightly and he looked away from the group. As he did so, the fireball quickly fell, landing at Jamie's feet, causing him to jump backward in surprise. When he fell, two more Jamies appeared. The two new bodies looked at each other, then got up and ran out the door, leaving the four mutants still in the room staring after them.

"Sorry about that. I got distracted for a second." John's apology was halfhearted, but it did what he wanted to do. Jamie looked back at him embarrassed. "I assume those clones aren't permanent?"

"No, they'll disappear in a couple hours or so and when they do I'll receive all the memories and feelings they had while they existed. Unfortunately, each one of them is its own entity, I don't control them, and sometimes they take on specific aspects of my personality."

"It's a bit of a crap shoot what those two clones will do then?" Jamie nodded at John's musing. "Well, I don't think they'll get into too much trouble, considering everyone around here is probably used to them." John sighed and stood up from the bench he'd been sitting on.

John had been thinking about something since the kids came in to meet him. Something had been bothering him, but he wasn't going to tell them what it was. He came to the conclusion that he needed to get the three teens out of the room without being rude. "By the way, the Professor is looking for you three. Something about needing to go to bed. Besides, I don't think you guys need to be seeing my battle scars."

"All right guys, let's go find him, huh?" The two kids looked at Evan and nodded, then turned back to John and waved as the three left the room.

John waved back as they walked out. As soon as he was sure they were gone, he turned his head and spoke over his shoulder. "If you're going to be following me all night, you might as well tell me why."

Logan silently stepped out from behind the row of lockers he'd been hiding behind. "Wondered how soon you were going to acknowledge my presence."

John smirked at Logan. "Well, it didn't seem like something the others needed to know." He turned around fully to face the mutant. "I assume that Dr. McCoy had you keeping an eye on me as well?"

Logan scoffed at John's assumption, but nodded. "Yeah, he wants to make sure you don't injure yourself again." John shook his head and turned his attention back to his locker.

"I told him that I knew my limits, that I'd heal in time. It's not like I really needed the doctors at the Organization to tell me when to take it easy for the last four years anyway. That said, I did reopen the damn cut again when I fell." As he said this, he removed the sweatshirt he'd been wearing, revealing a small white strip of skin across his stomach. One end of the gash ended underneath a patch of gauze, which was taped to the right side of John. The gauze had a red strip across the middle of it, and John removed the gauze quickly.

"Yeah, well, that's why he wanted you to take it easy, so you didn't do that." Logan nodded to the open wound, which was still bleeding slightly. John had reached into the locker and was using some cotton pieces to keep the blood from getting elsewhere. It wasn't a bad cut, but it was still bleeding a little bit.

"Yeah, well, even with this thing reopening, it'll be fully healed in about four more days, if I can get it to stay sealed. The skin from the rest of the wound has already recovered to the point where there won't be a scar, the doctor said so himself. And this thing will as well." He continued to clean the wound as Logan spoke to him.

"That may be true, but the doctor still wants you to take it easy." Logan decided to change the subject to something that he'd noticed earlier. "You didn't get distracted because I was here, you knew that already. And I know you were lying about the professor wanting to see them. So what's going on?"

John stopped in his self repairs and looked at Logan. The look was one of concern and confusion. "Honestly, Wolverine, I don't know. I thought I sensed another presence, a powerful one, but as soon as I did, it disappeared." His explanation made Logan a little worried. He suddenly wondered if the Professor had sensed this presence as well. Shaking his head, he decided that it wasn't something to discuss now, and John, coming to the same conclusion, went back to changing his clothes.

The younger mutant pulled out the shirt and pants that he'd borrowed from Scott's wardrobe. Looking at it, he sighed, hanging it from the top of the locker. "I really need to get my own clothes, Scott's taste in wardrobe is definitely not mine."

"So why don't you go buy some?" Logan was genuinely curious about this. He knew, as did everyone else, that John had only come to the mansion with the clothes he was wearing. Storm had given him a box of clothes that belonged to Scott Summers, another mutant who was currently studying in Europe.

"With what? Everything I have to my name I brought with me when I arrived here." He paused for a second, before adding. "Well, everything I have access to, that is."

"Everything you have access to?"

John nodded and turned his attention back to Logan as he explained. "The Organization is smart. Every mission we are sent on is budgeted. They always told us that whatever money is left over from the missions, we can put in the bank and keep it as a retirement incentive. The one request they make is that when we die, any of the money that's left over reverts back to them."

"That's an interesting idea, though it doesn't make much sense, if they never plan on letting anyone leave alive."

"No, but we didn't know that. It gave us something to look to forward to. Gave us a reason to do as they asked, and not buck the system." He paused for a second, obviously thinking about something. "When I left, I became the first one who could actually access the money that had been hidden away. It was then that they realized the error they'd made, without a body or a death certificate, they can't reacquire any of the money. They knew where it was, but they couldn't get their hands on it without my permission, or my death."

"So what then?"

"They've been watching the banks that the money is in, waiting for me to show up. If I ever did, they'd either capture me or kill me, either way, they'd get back the money they'd lost due to my rebellion. As long as the Organization exists, I can't get to that money. Its another one of the many reasons I want to see them destroyed."

As Logan processed this information, another thought occurred to him. "So, if you had no money, how did you buy a train ticket?"

"The same way anyone who's broke buys anything." As the realization dawned on Logan, John turned his attention back to his wound, placing fresh gauze on it and taping it on his gut. "I'm not proud of being a thief. Fact is, I don't do it unless I have to. That's why I haven't gone and gotten any more clothes. I can suffer through Scott's horrible style long enough to find a way to get some."

"You know, you should ask Storm about getting some money. She handles the Institute's finances, and I'm pretty sure there's some extra money in the bank." John looked at him curiously, so he continued. "You'll probably have to pay it back eventually, and she's going to want to know what you want the money for before she gives it to you, but if you tell her the truth, I don't think she'll have a problem with it."

"Thanks, Logan. I'll talk to her when she gets back." John had by now finished replacing the gauze patch and was putting on the sky blue button down shirt that he'd been wearing all day long. He paused as he realized that his audience hadn't moved to leave. "Uh, no offense, but I'd kinda like some privacy while I'm getting changed, if you don't mind. We can finish this conversation in a minute, once I'm done."

"Sure, bub, no problem." With that, Logan excused himself and left John alone in the room to finish changing. John sent a mental note to the Professor, explaining quickly that the three students were looking for him, and why, then he finished changing his clothes and left the locker room himself. He knew it wasn't going to be long before he went to bed, but he still had a couple of unimportant things to do.

_A/N: Well, it's not the best thing I've ever written, but it's probably not the worst either. Next chapter will be... well, it's hard to say what's going to happen next chapter without spoiling it, so I'll just say that John and the Professor are given something to think about._

_As always, please leave me a review or comment. I enjoy hearing what others think about my writing._


	2. Dreams and Plans

_A/N: All right, more X-Men goodness. This time around, we get a little more insight as to what's going on with John and the Organization. I need to mention right now that the italicized stuff at the beginning of this chapter is a dream that John is having. I was going to originally italicize the memory sequence in the first story, but in the end I decided against that, for many reasons._

_Disclaimer: I don't own it._

**Chapter 2 – Dreams and Plans**

_Smoke filled the night sky, as several helicopters flew overhead. "Yes, sir. We are entering the city now." As one of the pilots spoke into his radio, the helicopters flew past the Statue of Liberty, which was engulfed in flames. Beyond that, the entire city of New York was burning. Flames shot out of various buildings, many of which were crumbling into dust and ash._

"_We have the target spotted. He's in Times Square."_

"_Roger that." As the orders were confirmed, the helicopters headed into the city, searching for their target. As the helo's entered the city, the destruction became more obvious. Bodies littered the roads, burned beyond recognition. "My God." It was all anyone could say about the sight. After a few minutes, the flames and smoke became more intense, and it became much harder to see. As the helicopters descended into the city, it became harder for them to maneuver in the concrete canyons. The choppers ended up having to split apart to make their way safely to their destination._

_As the group of helicopters approached Times Square, the fire picked up. It wasn't long before shouts and screams were heard through the radio, and explosions were heard outside the chopper. "Dammit, we're under attack!"_

"_By what?"_

"_I don't know. I can't see ANYTHING for the flames... AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Another explosion silenced the radio once more. By now, the area surrounding the helicopter was clearing away as it entered the large Times Square area. By now the smoke was so thick they couldn't hardly see out their windows. After a few seconds of worry, however, their vision cleared. Unfortunately for them, it was just in time for them to see a large ball of flame flying straight for them. The pilot didn't even have a chance to react before the entire thing was engulfed in flame, sending it careening down and crashing in a heap in the middle of the street._

_Standing near where the helicopter had crashed was John Kerogi. As the fire swirled around him, he stood there, his head down and his eyes closed. In his right hand was a blood stained sword, and his left, a ball of fire was slowly dissipating. John looked slightly different from his normal appearance. His hair was standing almost straight up and colored a red/orange. His skin was almost a ghostly white color, and underneath his long jacket was what appeared to be some sort of body armor, rather than street clothes._

_The fires surrounding John began to fall away, revealing around him several burned and destroyed bodies. One of the bodies was laying next to a burned wheelchair. As the fires continued to burn, John raised his head and opened his eyes, revealing a strong glow coming from within them._

John sat up in his bed, his body covered in a cold sweat, and his breathing fairly heavy. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and ran a hand through his hair. He realized quickly that he probably wasn't going to get back to sleep, so he decided instead to get dressed. He fumbled around slightly in the dark, as his mind wasn't quite awake yet, but after a few minutes, he was dressed. John grabbed his sunglasses off the dresser and left his room.

The nightmare John had experienced had left him with an upset stomach, so he made his was down the hall into the bathroom. After spending a few minutes in there calming himself down, he exited and decided to head downstairs. Before he got too far, however, the elevator bell dinged and Professor Xavier rolled out. John nodded at him and approached. "What's wrong?"

The professor's face looked like he'd been awoken roughly, and when he looked at John, he had to answer the question. "Your nightmare. You were broadcasting it."

"I... what?" John's mind was racing now. All of a sudden a realization had come to him, and he didn't like it one bit. "I've had dreams like that occasionally for the past three years or so, though none since I arrived here until tonight. I always thought it was recurring nightmares as well, but now I'm not so sure."

"What do you think they are?"

"I don't know. Visions of the future maybe, one someone else wants." John looked at his hands, as if they held all the answers he needed. "I always thought that someone else was financing the Organization. I never had any proof, but even with all the missions and things we've done, there's no way they could afford everything on what is known."

"So you think someone else is controlling the General?"

"It's always been a possibility. And given what I saw earlier tonight..." He paused and looked at the Professor. "Earlier tonight I sensed something disturbing. There's a mutant here in Bayville. One I've never sensed before. I barely got a read on him before his mental defenses kicked in and I lost him."

"And you think that this mutant is connected to your past." It was a question that the Professor was asking, but it sounded like a statement.

"It's possible, though I don't know yet how." John paused for a second. "It's mid-morning in central Europe, right?"

"Should be, yes. Why?"

"I need your help."

"Of course, John. But with what?"

"Cerebro." Charles looked at John somewhat shocked. Of course John knew what Cerebro was, but nobody other than the Professor had ever asked or attempted to use it. Sensing the Professor's anxiety, John waved his hand. "I want you to use it, but I can guide you to the destination."

"What are you going to do?" It was a valid question, since John's enemies were all in Europe.

"I need to make a phone call that can't be traced." John pointed to his head as he spoke. "I just need you to open the connection. I can handle everything else."

Xavier sighed. He knew that John was aware of what he was asking, but he wasn't sure if John could pull it off. That said, his curiosity got the better of him and he agreed. "All right. Let's see if we can do it." And with that, the two headed for the third basement.

As the two walked down this metallic hallway, the professor had to speak his mind. "You are a powerful telepath, why do you need my help?"

"Two reasons. First, I don't think it'd be right to ask to use Cerebro by myself. Second, what I have planned neither one of us could pull off alone."

"You're going to be speaking to an enemy of yours." It was a logical conclusion, and one that was true.

"I'm going to speak to someone within the Organization, yes. But I hope it's not an enemy. He wasn't last time I spoke to him, at least." The professor then realized what he was going to do.

"That is a risky move, you know."

"It's worth the risk." The reply was immediate. John was well aware of what Charles' response would be. "Besides, if I'm right, it's not going to make much difference anyway."

By now, they'd reached the room Cerebro was housed in. The scanner picked up Xavier's retina and scanned it, allowing them access to the room. John decided he needed to lay out his plan in full detail. "I plan on taking my friends from the Organization, those that I can find easily enough anyway, and bringing them into my mind. However, in order to do so, I have to open it up, and I won't be able to keep others out."

"That's why you want me to be with you, to act as your gatekeeper."

"Yes, that and I'll be dead to the outside world while I do this. I'll need you to tell me if or when someone is coming for my friends." The professor started to speak but John held up a hand. "I agree that if it's possible, it'd be better for you to remain anonymous for now, but depending on the situation, it may not be possible." Charles nodded his confirmation and placed Cerebro's helmet on his head. John, for his part, stood back and waited as the machine activated.

Suddenly the room around John and Charles disappeared, replaced with several thousand small white dots floating around, along with echoes of people's voices. After a few seconds, many of the dots moved around and disappeared, as Charles had focused in on a specific area. "The town you're looking for is Deuchendorf. It's in the northeast part of Germany, near the mountains." More movement followed John's statement, and the white balls spread out a bit more, becoming less in number as well as the Professor focused in on the area John had indicated.

After a few more seconds, the professor sighed. "There's nothing here. I can't find any mutants in this town, or anywhere in the vicinity."

"I was afraid of that. The Organization has the ability to cloak its base when it's not broadcasting. It can, in effect, hide from psychics like you or me." John looked around at the current situation. "Can you change the view?"

"To what?"

"A physical representation of the town. I can get us to the base, but I'm not sure what I'm looking at right now." After almost a minute, the area around them changed into the center of a small town. The town was blurred, an effect of being a mental projection rather than the real thing. John pointed out a direction, and the professor led them that way, almost as if they were floating. In fact, as they past people, John realized that it was almost as if they were ghosts. They could see people in almost real time, going about their morning routines, but they couldn't interact with them, at least not physically.

"There's a path to the east, it'll lead into the mountains. Follow it to it's end." They did so, and eventually came to a dead end. At this dead end, the area in front of them was even more blurred than the rest.

"What is this place?"

"Like I said, they are able to shield themselves from psychic intrusions. Thankfully, I know how to get beyond the barrier. John held out his hands and the distortion in front of them began to move and shift. It took over a minute, but eventually, the distortion shifted into a doorway. "All right, we're in."

They entered the base, and now Charles could sense all of the mutants and humans who were inside. "My God, all of these people are hunting us?"

John sighed, his expression one of sadness and regret. "Yes, although most of them aren't aware of it." He looked around, then back to the professor. "Third floor dorms." With that Charles led them up the steps, through the various soldiers and collared mutants walking around. " As you saw in my memories, the collars control mutants by limiting their ability to use their powers. They can cut off your ability at any time using those collars. You can still see they are mutants, obviously, but right now most of them are completely powerless."

They made their way the rest of the way up to the third floor uneventfully. They paused at the start of the long hallway leading to the dorms. John was silent for a minute, before speaking up. "Good, they're all still here. Halfway down, room 318." Charles led them down this hallway, and paused before the door. John stood there for a minute, before talking to the professor once again. "All right, my turn now. I need the two in this room and the one across the hall in 319." With that, John closed his eyes, and the area around them dissolved.

When the blurred scenery became more solid once again, John was standing in the middle of a black abyss-like room. In front of him were two men, behind him was a single female. "Vat happened? Where are we?" The bald, scarred man was the first to react to his new settings.

"I would have thought you'd recognize this place easily by now, Friedrick." John's voice immediately got the attention of all three of the others in the area.

"John? It's really you?" Natalia walked up to him and hugged him, nearly knocking him over in her excitement. "Da, I'm not dreaming!"

"No, you're not. It's good to see you again. All of you." Natalia finally released John, and he stepped away in thought. "I am sorry that I haven't been able to get in contact with you before now, and I'm also sorry that you are still here. I wanted you three to know that I do intend to keep my promise to set all of you free."

"Of course, we don't doubt that, John." Karl spoke up, finally over his shock at seeing his longtime friend. "But, you aren't here just to remind us of that promise, are you?"

"He's right, John. Its far too dangerous to contact us this way, even for you." Friedrick trailed off as he finished his statement. "Someone else is here, someone hidden."

"Yes, there is. The equipment I'm using to contact you is owned by someone else. It is that person who is hidden. He is controlling the connection, though for now he wishes to remain anonymous." John then turned his attention to Karl. "As for why I'm here, you're right, I do have other reasons. I need your help."

"What can we do? We're slaves to General Raines." Natalia spoke up.

"Yes, you are, that's why you can help. I need all the information you can get on him, the Knights, and the Organization. I specifically want financial records, though the records of his experiments and missions would definitely be an asset."

"You intend to go public?" Karl was curious now.

"Only as far as getting him convicted of crimes against humanity. If it's at all possible, we'll leave the existence of mutants out of it."

"So why financial?" Natalia was aware she'd be the one searching for this data, though she wondered why it was important.

"Even with the secret contracted killings and the not so secret support of the UN, there is a lot more money being spent within these walls than is available."

"He's getting funding from an unknown source." Unsurprising to John, Friedrick was putting it together first.

"Yes, and I think it may go all the way back to when I was kidnapped." John paused and sighed before elaborating on his point. "I always assumed that my kidnapping was random, that I was just unlucky in that regard. Unfortunately, the events of the last week or so, specifically the last day, have forced me to reconsider this idea."

"You think someone has a destiny in mind for you? Why?" Natalia was a little scared at his statement.

"Earlier this evening, I sensed a mutant that I didn't recognize. I only got a brief sense of him, not enough to identify him but enough to know that he's powerful. He has mental barriers that are good enough to keep him completely invisible to me, and to the man who's helping me." He paused again, debating on whether to mention the other reason. "There's also the images I've been seeing sometimes when I'm asleep. Images of entire cities burning, massive amounts of bodies. And every one of them has me right in the middle of it."

All three of his companions gasped at his revelation. "So you think that someone wants you to destroy the world? What would that accomplish?" Karl was the least concerned and confused. He'd known John longer than anyone else in their group, and he knew what John was capable of.

"I have no idea. It would help if I could identify the person who's responsible." John shrugged his shoulders. "I'm almost out of time. Please find out what you can about the General, and about me. I get the feeling something big is about to happen. If that is the case, we'll probably be meeting in person again sooner rather than later."

"We'll do what we can, John. Be safe." Natalia hugged her friend once again. After that the three men shook hands.

"I will, Nattie, don't worry about me. Take care of her, you two. Good bye." And with that, the room dissolved again, this time, when John's vision cleared, he was back in Cerebro's room with Charles.

"You still intend to take on the Organization?"

"Sooner or later, I won't have a choice. And if things keep going the way they appear to be, it's probably going to be sooner."

The two men left the room as they spoke to each other. "John, you know that we can't help you if you go after them."

"I don't intend to go after them, Professor." John seemed to be staring at a spot on the far end of the hallway. "If General Raines is tied to the mutant I sensed earlier, then he already knows where I am. It is only a matter of time before he sends someone here after me."

"He wouldn't be that reckless. You know that better than anyone."

"He won't come himself, no. But he will send his... slaves in to take care of things for him." John paused for a second after this statement. Charles realized that he was thinking about something.

"What is it?"

"I sensed something when we were first focusing in on the base. Someone very powerful is in Germany. He had someone with him, another mutant. That other mutant, the younger one, something was familiar about him, but I can't place what."

"I'm sorry, John, but I don't know what to tell you about that." The professor yawned, politely covering his mouth. "I'm afraid that I need to get some more sleep. If you don't that's fine, but please try not to wake up the rest of the mansion."

"I won't, sir. Rest well." The professor had entered the elevator and was unable to respond to John's comment before the doors closed. Charles was right, however. John wasn't going to be going back to sleep. He had too many things on his mind now to get any rest. He smirked slightly, as he'd found an isolated place on the grounds that would be perfect for thinking and he made is way there.

_A/N: Another one down. I would like to mention that I called this story "Brotherhood" for a reason. They will appear next chapter, once school starts up again. I decided that since John is my main character, most of the other characters will be introduced to my stories through him. This is why they haven't yet appeared._

_As always, I do appreciate reviews and comments._


	3. Back to School

_A/N: This chapter ended up being a long one. As promised, we do meet a couple members of the Brotherhood in this one, and I will be introducing one more either the next chapter or the one after that. I don't have a final list of who will be in the Brotherhood group, but for this story there's only three. I may have others in another one, at least by mention, however. As the chapter title says, this is the first time that the kids of the group go back to school since John arrived._

_Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't sue!_

**Chapter 3 – Back to School**

The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon in the East as John sat on the roof of the mansion. He'd been there since he left Charles the night before. Everyone within the mansion was already awake, as Logan had had a mandatory training session for the students at five. John didn't need to be in the Danger Room to know how the training session went. He could sense Logan's frustration and knew it hadn't gone very well. It was now nearly six in the morning, and the teens would be getting ready to go to school again for the first time since John had arrived. None of that mattered much to the mutant, though, as John was more concerned with the events of the night before. He was so deep in thought that despite knowing the locations of everyone within the institute, he was surprised when he suddenly smelled sulfur.

"Hi, John. What are you doing up here?" John turned his eyes to Kurt as he sat down next to the older mutant, still looking around. "How did you get here anyway?"

John smirked at his blue skinned friend. "I have my ways." He looked out over the grounds in front of him. "I noticed the other day that this is one of the few places in the entire institute where I can find some peace and quiet. In fact, you're the first person I've seen come up here besides me since then."

"So, why are you up here?"

"I was thinking about some things." There was some sadness in John's voice as he spoke, which didn't go unnoticed by Kurt.

"Something wrong?"

Now John was looking at his friend. "I don't know, Kurt." He shook his head. "There's a part of me that still wonders if coming here was a good idea or not." He smiled as a thought came to him. "So, what are YOU doing up here?"

"Oh, Kitty does her yoga training down by the pond at six on school days. Sometimes if I'm not busy with other things I'll sneak up here and watch her."

"Oh, you're stalking your girlfriend, huh?"

"Vat? No!" Kurt blushed slightly at John's comments. "Actually she knows I like to watch her. Sometimes she knows when I'm up here, sometimes she doesn't." He paused for a second and turned back to John, as he'd heard the other mutant stand up and start walking away. "You should stay, it's actually amazing to watch."

"I don't know if that would be a good idea, all things considered."

Kurt sighed. He knew that Kitty still held a grudge against John for the injuries Kurt had sustained after John arrived. He also knew that John had been seemingly going out of his way to avoid the young female since the incident. "You really need to talk to her, John. You need to get this all sorted out between you two."

"I know I do. I just don't know how." John stepped back toward Kurt and leaned down next to him. "She has a lot of anger directed toward me still, and I haven't figured out how to get past that yet. So, in order to not make things worse, I'll just stay away as much as I can for now. But I'll figure it out eventually. All you need to do is have faith." John stood back up and started walking away again as Kurt let out a bit of a chuckle at John's last comment. "Besides, I have other things I need to do."

"Like what?" Kurt's curiosity was getting the better of him now. When John didn't answer Kurt turned to him, only to find that the mutant had already disappeared. The cloaked mutant started to go after his friend, but stopped when he saw Kitty heading toward the pond. Deciding he could ask John about what he was up to later, Kurt sat back down to watch his girlfriend's morning workout. He was somewhat surprised when she looked back at him with a scowl on her face. Unable to think of the reason why she'd be upset, he decided to put it off for now, becoming hypnotized by Kitty's graceful movements.

"So, Chuck. All of the students are back except Amara, right?" Logan and Charles were in his study, discussing what was going to happen today. It was something that the Institute's leaders did daily, though at the moment, Storm was on her way back from Washington and Hank was down in the medical bay, so it was just the two of them.

"Yes. One of their employees passed away over the weekend, she's staying with her family for the funeral, which is tomorrow. She'll be returning late on Wednesday or early Thursday." Charles sighed. Amara had called them on Saturday to inform them of the change in plans. She seemed distraught, more than the Professor had thought she should be. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew something wasn't right.

"Something wrong, bub?" The professor looked more weary than normal this morning, as if he hadn't slept well the night before.

"I'll be all right, Logan. I just had a rough night last night, that's all."

"John woke you up?" At the professor's curious look, Logan added. "I heard you guys downstairs at about two in the morning. Seemed a bit early for a workout."

"We were using Cerebro. John had an idea that he wanted to try out."

"This have anything to do with the mutant John thought he sensed last night?" Once again, Charles was a little confused at how Logan knew these things, but he was also aware of Dr. McCoy's concerns for the new mutant and realized what had happened quickly.

"Yes. John had a nightmare which was sent to me as well. He thinks that this mutant is sending him these images, though he doesn't know what for."

"You have any thoughts on it?"

Charles shook his head. "I can't argue with John's reasoning as to why someone would do this, though there is no evidence to support it either. For now, it appears that all we can do is wait it out." The psychic mutant wasn't comfortable talking about this subject, so he decided to try to change it. "Any word on Mystique?"

"No, nothing since the station. Wherever she went, I can't find her and she's laying lower than I've ever seen her lay." Logan shook his head now. "Chuck, if she's injured..."

"She couldn't have disappeared like she did without help, even if she wasn't hurt. And as far as I can tell, it wasn't from anyone in the Brotherhood."

"You think there's a new player in this game?"

"I think that we have a lot more questions right now than we do answers." Charles looked at his watch. "You need to go, Logan. Get the kids to school."

"Yeah, bub, I know. Later." Logan waved at the professor as he left the room. Charles slumped back in his wheelchair and sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. The last couple of days had been rough on him more than anyone else.

The first bell had just rang as Kitty hurriedly made her way into the school. As she passed a teen with long black hair, he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Hey, Kitty. Can we talk?"

"No, Lance, we can't. Now let go of my arm!" She was obviously not in a good mood, but Lance was almost as stubborn as his longtime friend.

"What's wrong? I just wanted to see how your vacation was!"

"Yeah? Last time you wanted to talk, you tried to force yourself on me, even though you know I'm dating Kurt!"

"I still don't know what you see in the elf."

"He treats me like a person rather than an animal to be conquered." As she finished speaking to him, she jerked her arm free and hurried into the building.

"Jeez. What's her problem?" Lance didn't ask the question to anyone in particular, and nobody responded. Sighing, he turned around to see a smaller teen walking, or rather hopping, toward him. "What's up Toad?"

"Yo, man. I hear that the Institute got another member over the break." Todd "Toad" Tolansky was a mutant with a slight green tint to his skin, short brown hair and a slight hunchback. He wore black pants with a white and brown shirt. Lance looked at him somewhat annoyed.

"Great, they have another student?"

"Naw, man, this guy's older. Like a teacher or something. And apparently, your former girlfriend has a problem with him."

"Huh, so that's her problem." Lance started walking toward the school. "How is it you know this stuff anyway?"

"Yo, man, I'm invisible when I want to be. People forget I'm around and I hear a LOT."

"Yeah, I suppose you'd need to know how to be quiet if you're going to be any good at pickpocketing." Lance smiled at his friend as the two walked into the school.

Hank was almost surprised when he walked into his lab to see John there. But John had been hanging around Beast's lab quite a bit since arriving, trying to learn about medicine, or at least that's what the normal looking mutant had claimed. Truth was, Hank was also learning a bit from John about herbal medicines.

John turned to acknowledge Hank as he walked in, smiling at him, then turning back to what he was doing. "Hi, John. What are you reading?"

"I'm just looking at your report on Kurt. I was speaking to Logan earlier and he said Kurt was favoring the burned area on his chest during the training session today. I'm a bit surprised that I hadn't noticed that he was still injured."

"Don't take it personally. My understanding is that Kurt himself didn't realize how sore he still was until this morning. He hadn't been extremely active during the week off, after all."

John sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right." He closed the folder he'd been looking at and turned around to face Hank. "I suppose Logan told you about what I did last night."

"He mentioned it, yes." Hank sat down across the table from John. "I'm not going to chastise you for what you did. You are right about one thing, you know yourself and your limits better than I do. I suppose I should trust your instincts, at least until you are proven wrong."

John smiled at the doctor's words. "Gee, thanks, Doc." He stood up and put Kurt's file away in Hank's cabinet and returned to his seat. Hank looked at him for a few seconds, and a thought occurred to him.

"You know, I've noticed that you don't ever seem to relax, John."

"Relax?" John was a bit confused by this sudden comment from his friend.

"Yes. Your room is bare of anything other than what we provided you, you never participate in games with the students or even the faculty, and I've never seen you sit down and watch a movie or any sort of television. Fact is, the only thing you seem to ever do is work out in the Danger Room, learn stuff in here, and occasionally eat a meal. Hell, your main source of nutrition is those awful energy bars that you keep snacking on!"

John smirked at Hank's comments about his food choices. "You know, these bars may not taste the best, but they still taste better than most of what I've lived on for the last five years. They're also better for me." As he finished is comment, his smirk turned into a frown and he stood up. "As far as relaxing goes, I don't relax because I'm not used to having the opportunity." He sighed and stopped, facing Beast once more. "Truth is, I've been here for eight days. That's twice as long as I've stayed at any one location for the past five years, other than when I was on the _Euphrates_. Even before I left the Organization, if I wasn't training or on a mission, I was usually confined to quarters.

"Fact is, I have spent almost my entire life simply trying to survive. I've always had to look over my shoulder, and I've never had the chance to let my guard down, not without consequences. You say I don't ever relax? Well, I guess..." John paused, and slumped slightly, before continuing. "I guess it's because I simply don't know how to let myself do so."

Hank nodded at John's explanation. He'd already brought the subject up with Charles and Logan, and between the three of them, they came to a similar conclusion. "You're safe here, you know. You don't have to be on alert all the time any more."

John sighed and sat back down across from the doctor. "I know that, and I'm trying to change. It's hard to do when you've done it the same way for 20 years."

Hank smiled and nodded at John's statement, but the smile quickly faded as another issue came to mind. "There is something else you need to do, you know."

"What's that?"

"Talk to Katherine." John's smile vanished at those words. "We can all feel the tension between you two. And even though I know, and most of the others do as well, that she over reacted, you two still need to talk, and the sooner the better."

"You're probably right. I intend to talk to her eventually, but..." John closed his eyes, though Hank couldn't see them for the sunglasses. "She has a lot of anger and hatred directed toward me, more than even I would have expected her to have. I don't know why she hates me so much, nor do I know how to get around it yet."

"I believe..." At this new voice, the two men turned toward the doors to see Ororo had returned. "... that Kitty is happiest when she is with Kurt. When you injured Kurt, she immediately saw you as a major threat to her happiness. I think that in her mind, when you attacked Kurt, you attacked her as well, and she's not quite as forgiving as her boyfriend."

John considered Storm's words carefully as Hank greeted his friend. "Welcome back. How was Washington?"

"It was the same as it always is. Sometimes I'm proud to be a part of what's happening, other times I swear I don't know how those people are able to keep their jobs."

"I take it this weekend was one of the latter?"

"It was actually a bit of both." John was looking at the two of them questioningly. He'd known she'd gone to the nation's capitol to speak with a group of lawmakers, though he hadn't been told why. Realizing this, Ororo decided to explain. "As you know, John, the general public is unaware of the existence of mutants. This extends to the lawmakers and leaders of this country and most others as well. However, there is a small group of lawmakers who are aware of the existence of mutants, and they are generally working toward paving the way for us to come out publicly at some point."

"That date is probably a long ways off, though." Now the two mutants were looking at John curiously. "Humanity, in general, tends to fear what it doesn't know, what it sees as different. Their fear tends to turn into hatred, their hatred into violence, and their violence into war. War is something that nobody wants to see, though many believe is inevitable."

"I suppose you're right, John." Storm sighed and sat down next to the younger mutant. "But, I didn't come down here just to talk politics with you two. Logan said you wanted to speak to me."

"Oh, yes, I did. Logan mentioned that you handle the Institute's finances, and I was wondering if it would be at all possible to get a loan."

"What for?" Storm was a bit curious, though she had an idea of why John wanted money.

"Well, unfortunately, when I came here last week, I had no money one me, and since I don't have a job yet, I still don't have any. I've been using Scott's clothes for the last week, which I am grateful for, but to be honest, his taste in attire is terrible. I'd like to go to the mall and get something that's more my style."

Ororo nodded at John's request. "I was wondering when you'd ask about that. Let me go to the bank and get some money for you, $1000 should be enough, right?" At John's nod, she continued. "There is one catch, however."

John sighed. He knew what was coming, but he had to ask anyway. "All right, what is it?"

"You must take Kitty and Kurt with you." As John turned to face the other adults, Storm took it as an opportunity to continue. "I told them I'd take them after school, but since you wish to go as well, you can take them instead. I won't ask you to make nice with Kitty, that will happen in its own time. But please don't try to pick a fight with her."

John considered Storm's comments for a few seconds before nodding to her. "That's fine. Who knows, perhaps we can come to an understanding. What time do I need to pick them up?"

"You'll need to introduce yourself to Principal Kelly first. If you don't he'll probably assume you're kidnapping them. I'd say you'll need to be at the school between 2:30 and 3:00 to see him."

John looked at the clock in the corner, it was almost noon. "All right. I have some things to do before I go, so if you'll excuse me." John waved at the two and left the room.

It had been a long morning for Kitty. After Lance had tried to speak to her, she had to be in two classes with the oaf. In both of the classes he ended up sitting near her, and trying to talk again. Both times she ignored him, though his pestering did but make her even more angry. She hadn't seen Kurt since they'd been dropped off by Logan this morning, despite being in the same grade, they only had one class together, and it was the last one of the day. Now it was lunch, and she was sitting with Kurt on her left, and Rogue and Evan across from them.

"But he got caught by Mr. Emerson, and sent to Principal Kelly's office AGAIN!" Evan had been telling the group about a prank Todd had tried to pull during a class earlier, and how he'd been sent to the office for the rest of the day because of it. Apparently, Evan thought it was a funny story. Kurt was laughing as well, though nowhere near as uncontrollably as the blond. Rogue was just simply eating her mashed potatoes as silently as she normally did.

"Well, there you are. Can we please talk, Kitty?" Katherine groaned at the voice. Lance just didn't seem to get the hint.

"Lance, I told you know this morning before school. I told you know in first period AND third period. I'm telling you no now. I DO NOT WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Hey, I just want to..."

"She said no, Lance. Now go away." Kurt had gotten up from his seat and was now standing next to the other boy. Lance just turned to face his rival.

"Or what?" Lance grabbed Kurt's shirt, pulling the smaller boy closer to him. But Lance was as surprised as everyone when Kurt's fist made its home on Lance's face. The taller one then shoved Kurt away from him, tearing the shirt in the process as the smaller boy yelped slightly in pain. Lance moved to attack Kurt but stopped cold for two reasons. The first is that Evan and Rogue had stepped between the two, the second was he saw a large patch of pink skin on the boy's chest. "I... What happened to you?"

Kurt was angry now, more than he usually was, and it showed in his reply. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was careless during a training exercise over the break. Now leave us alone, Lance, before things get worse than they already are."

"Sure, all right. No problem." Lance was backing off. He knew that as good as he was in a fight, three on one was not going to end well for him. "It may not matter to you, but I am sorry about your injury." As he finished speaking he turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

Everyone's eyes turned to Kitty, but it was Kurt who spoke up first. "Vat is going on, Katzchen?"

Kitty just looked at the three and sighed. "It's just... something back home. Don't worry about it." She stood up and started walking away, dumping her food in the garbage as she exited the room herself, leaving the three to wonder what it was that was actually bothering their friend.

_A/N:I had actually planned on a couple more scenes in this chapter, but I stopped at this point for a couple of reasons. The first is time, which I ran out of. The second is that the next chapter, as I'd originally planned it, would have been quite short and this one would have been about another 1,500-2,000 words if I added the other two scenes in. I decided to even things up and put the other two scenes in the next chapter._

_Speaking of the next chapter, it'll mostly take place at the mall, obviously. But what happened back at Kitty and Lance's home town? Will John and Kitty ever become less hostile to each other? You'll have to keep reading to find out. (Yes, I do know the answer to at least one of those questions, I'm just not gonna spoil it.)_

_Oh, I almost forgot, I didn't put the translation for Kurt's German at the end of this chapter because it appeared in the first story. That said, for those of you who haven't read it, or don't remember, it's "Kitten."_

_As always, reviews are loved. If you want to just leave a comment you can do that as well!_


	4. Bayville Mall

_A/N: Ugh, this chapter took FOREVER for me to write. I kept having trouble with how I wanted it to go, and got a bad case of writer's block in the process! This time around, there's a bit more to Kitty's story revealed, and the gang heads to the mall, as the title suggests. Also, John meets the Brotherhood members for the first time._

_Disclaimer: I don't own it... well, I own John and other O/C's but that's it._

**Chapter 4 – Bayville Mall**

It was almost 3:00 when Lance caught up to Kitty in the hallway of the school. The last period had started, but both of them had classes where their absences would go unnoticed, and they both knew it. Having said that, it was pure coincidence that they encountered each other in the otherwise deserted hallway.

"Kitty, I really need to talk to you." Lance was persistent, but Kitty wasn't listening. She ignored him and moved on past him to wherever she was heading, but he had one more thing to say. "I heard about what happened. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I'm sure Kurt appreciates your concern, considering you tried to kick his ass earlier today." Kitty's anger was apparent in her voice. It was an emotion that she rarely showed, and thus it took Lance a few seconds to recover from his shock. She started walking again, but he found his voice before she could get too far.

"I meant about what happened back home." Katherine stopped dead in her tracks at this revelation. She knew that he'd find out eventually, but she hadn't expected him to be sympathetic. Apparently he really did care about her feelings.

She turned to him and smiled softly. "Thanks, Lance." The anger had completely vanished from her voice. She had kept everything to herself, even Kurt and the Professor didn't know about what had happened. She'd found out last night, of course.

"If there's anything you need, I'm here for you." Lance had stepped closer to her as she was consumed with her thoughts. "Someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, anything at all, all right?"

"I appreciate the gesture, Lance." She hugged her friend, but then pulled away. "But I have Kurt for that." She smiled at him, almost apologetically, then turned and walked away, disappearing down the corner of the hall.

Lance was left somewhat stunned by her last statement. He'd hoped he had found a way to get back in her good graces, but apparently she was going to deal with it on her own. Lance turned and walked the direction he had been heading before spotting his former girlfriend. "I swear, Kitty, if I ever figure out who did it..." He was so consumed with his thoughts that he failed to notice that their entire conversation had been heard by an unfamiliar man.

John was aware that something was bothering Kitty. She'd been angry at him since Kurt got injured, sure, but today she was even more upset than usual, and John knew it even before he'd spoken to the elf that morning. John wasn't dumb enough to ask her what was bothering her, he knew he wouldn't get the answer he wanted. So he decided to let things play out. It was just by chance that he had been heading toward the principal's office when he heard Kitty and Lance talking.

John could tell that Lance was a mutant, and since John hadn't seen him at the mansion, he was forced to assume that Lance was a member of the Brotherhood. He didn't want to expose himself any more than necessary, so he decided to remain out of Lance's sight for now. Once the mutant had turned the corner, John finished making his way to Principal Kelly's office.

Upon reaching the principal's office, he found the door closed, so he knocked first. Once the secretary told him to come in, he entered, and told her he wanted to speak to the principal. After a few minutes, the man in question came into the office himself.

"Good afternoon, sir, how can I help you?" Kelly extended his hand, which John took.

"I was told that I should come talk to you. My name is John Kerogi, and I'm a new employee at the Xavier Institute." John noted that the other man's mood and expression changed when he brought up his employer. It wasn't hard for John to pretend he hadn't noticed, though. ""Since I'm going to be picking up some of the students after school, Professor Xavier thought I should introduce myself to you first."

The principal looked John over carefully. The mutant had changed out of Scott's clothes into the battered attire that he'd worn when he arrived at the mansion a week earlier. The holes had been stitched up, but it was obvious that his clothing was about ready to fall apart around him. He was also wearing the shades he always had on when in public. "I would have thought they'd tell you it was impolite to be wearing sunglasses indoors."

John simply smiled at the suggestion. "I am well aware of that, however, I happen to have a rather visible eye condition and I've found that wearing sunglasses tends to make people more at ease than I would be without them."

The answer seemed to satisfy the man, as he decided to return to the original topic. "So what do you do at the Institute?" It was obvious the principal was trying to be polite. He didn't like the Institute, though it wasn't clear to John why. The mutant simply smiled and responded as politely as he could.

"We're actually still working that out, I was hired over the break even though there wasn't a position open. I'll probably end up being a language teacher or translator."

"What would they need either of those for? We offer foreign language courses here." Principal Kelly seemed almost incredulous at the prospect.

"The Institute deals with people from all over the world. And although most of the students speak English quite well, some of their families don't. It also helps that I can provide one on one instruction if it's needed."

John's explanation seemed to calm down the administrator. "I suppose you're right on that account, though I have to ask how you know other languages. You don't exactly look like a college scholar."

John chuckled slightly at Kelly's remark. "No, I'm not. Both myself and my father were in the military, and I spent most of my life in Europe. As such, I'm familiar with a few of the more common languages used there."

Before Kelly could respond, the bell to end school for the day rang out. As the noise in the hallways increased, he realized that the conversation was over. "Well, it was good to meet you. Good luck with your new job."

"Thanks. Good luck keeping all these kids in line." Kelly smiled and nodded as John left the office, closing the door behind him and heading for the building's exit.

"Hey, Kitty, come on, let's go find Ororo and go to the mall." Kurt grabbed Kitty's arm, but she jerked away from his grasp, causing him to stop and look at her with a lot of concern. "What's wrong, Katzchen? You know you can tell me."

"I... it's nothing, Kurt, don't worry about it." Kitty sighed and took his hand.

"I can't help it, Kitty, I am worried. It's not usual for you to be this angry. Please, tell me what happened."

"Maybe later." By now the couple had exited the building and Kitty spotted Storm's vehicle, which John had borrowed. "Ah, there's the Jeep, but where's Ororo?"

"I'm afraid that there's been a change of plans." Both of the teens turned to see John behind them. While Kurt was smiling a bit at his friend's appearance, Kitty's scowl had only grown. None of this went unnoticed by the psychic mutant. "Sorry, Kitty, but I need to go to the mall myself, so Ororo asked me to take you two with me."

Kitty groaned and walked toward the Jeep, getting in the back, with Kurt getting in next to her. John shook his head and got in the driver's seat. As they pulled out, John looked at the female in the mirror. "I understand you're in Driver's Ed right now. I'll let you drive back to the mansion when we're done."

"Gee, thanks." Kitty's voice was dripping with sarcasm and anger. "How is it you have a license when you've been in the country a week?"

John just sighed. He knew now that something was bothering her other than his actions a week earlier, so he tried to be kind. "I have had a license since I was 18." Kitty accepted that answer, and was angrily quiet after that. The ride to the mall was quiet, Kitty's mood seeming to permeate the entire vehicle.

Once they arrived, the three got out and formed a plan to meet later. "How long will you two need?"

"A couple of hours should be more than enough." Kurt commented.

"All right, we'll meet at the food court at 6 and I'll buy dinner." Kurt nodded and he and Kitty went into the mall. John locked up the Jeep, then followed them.

"Hey, John!" The mutant hadn't gotten very far past the door when someone called out to him. He turned his attention to the girl who'd spoken, to see her bouncing up to him happily.

"Hi, Jubilee, how did you get here so fast?" He'd met her a couple of times during the week he'd been in Bayville, though they really hadn't spoken.

"Oh, my last period is a study hall, so sometimes I sneak out and come here instead." John nodded at her explanation. "So, why are you here?"

"I'm actually here to get some new clothes. The ones I've been wearing are..."

"Not you." She giggled as she spoke.

"It's that obvious?"

"You look better in what you have on now, though it looks like it's seen better days." She smiled at the elder mutant and grabbed his arm. "Come on, I'll show you where the best spots are to get what you need."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks." John smiled and walked along with her through the mall.

By six, John had managed to spend over half of what Storm had given him. He now had enough clothes to last for more than a week, as well as some fancier attire for special occasions and a new jacket to replace his old, beat up one. As promised, he and Jubilee met Kurt and Kitty at the food court and John bought each of them dinner. Kitty's sour mood was still apparent, but the four of them still managed to have a halfway pleasant conversation.

"So, John, what was your childhood like?" Jubilee had heard, just like everyone else, about John's history with the Organization. But, also like everyone else, she knew nothing about his life before that. John knew this, and he sighed, as he knew someone would ask eventually.

"It was..." John stopped to think about what he was going to say for a few seconds. "I suppose it was like anyone else who's the child of a soldier."

"But didn't you say he retired?" Kurt was curious as well. He'd heard John mention a few things about his early life, but nothing specific.

"Yes, he did, when I was five. After he retired, he became employed by a friend of his who'd served with him. He worked as a private security guard for various VIPs and companies. Most of the time he worked for this Japanese guy, I don't remember his name now, though." John was silent for a few more seconds, but the memory was avoiding him for now. "At any rate, my dad was good friends with this other guy in Japan, Master Kasi, and he allowed Kasi to train me to fight, as well as Tom, the son of my dad's friend."

"That sounds nice." Kurt's pleasant mood and comments made John smile a bit as he acknowledged his friend.

"Yeah, it was. Kasi had a beautiful home and dojo up in the mountains where he took us to train us. He usually let us spar against each other since we were his only students at the time, with just a bit of instruction where he saw fit to provide it. I remember Tom was a little bit arrogant, he refused to believe that I was better than him. One day we were fighting on the edge of a cliff on Kasi's property and I was doing even better than normal, and it infuriated him. He charged at me blindly, and when I sidestepped him, he hit the rope railing along the edge of the cliff so hard that he broke it and went flying off the side."

The three others gasped at this story. "Did he..." Kitty couldn't even finish the question, but she didn't need to. John was well aware of what she was asking and shook his head.

"No. The cliff was about fifty feet or so high, but when he fell, somehow the broken rope got wrapped around his arm. He fell about six or seven feet before the rope's slack ran out and slammed him against the cliff face. I thought he'd died as well and started calling for Master Kasi, when he started yelling at me to pull him up." John laughed a little bit at the memory. "I was seven years old at the time, Tom was almost a full year older than I was, and quite a bit bigger, so it took me a while to pull him up."

"So, he was glad you helped him?" John shook his head at Kurt's assumption, laughing slightly once again.

"No, actually, he started berating me for taking too long to pull him up. At some point, Master Kasi had come down to check on us, and when he heard Tom's response to my help, he ended up using his ability to send him right back over the cliff. His arm was still caught in the rope, so he ended up as he had been when he first went over. Kasi told me to leave him to help himself up since he didn't appreciate my help the first time. It took Tom over an hour to climb back up, and by the time he did, he'd actually managed to separate his shoulder."

Jubilee had caught John's terminology in his story. "He used his ability? You mean Kasi was a mutant?"

John smiled at the question. "Yes, he was."

"And your parents knew that?" Kurt was realizing what John was saying now.

"Yes, they did. In fact, that's part of the reason they wanted him to train me. They knew that it would be a matter of time before the existence of mutants became public knowledge, and they wanted me to not be afraid of them, of you." John paused for a second in his explanation, realizing they may not know what he meant. "They didn't know that I was a mutant, nobody did. I was too young for my powers to show, and neither of my parents were mutants. They wanted me to be comfortable around mutants, even if I wasn't one, because they knew that they would face persecution simply because of what they are."

"So, your parents got you used to being around mutants? Guess you were pretty lucky." Jubilee was quite amazed with his story, as was Kurt.

"Yeah. My dad said that a mutant had saved his life once. He always said that mutants weren't any different than humans, there were good and evil ones in their group just like there are in humans. Tom's dad, he wanted the same thing, though I don't think Tom was quite as comfortable around Kasi as I was. I got the impression that he was a little bit... angered by his presence."

Kitty had become quite interested in John's story, which was surprising to the elder mutant. "So, what happened next time you two sparred?"

John's smile faded at that question. "We never got the chance. Six months later my family was in Europe and I got kidnapped. I haven't seen or heard anything about either of them since that time. Hell, I don't even know if either of them are still alive."

Jubilee, realizing what he was saying, suddenly leaned over and hugged her friend. "I'm sorry, about everything." John smiled at her, but he was cut off before he could begin to reply by a new voice.

"Well now, what do we have here?" Everyone's attention turned to the new person, as they saw Lance and Todd walking, or in Todd's case, hopping, toward them.

Kurt's disdain at the new guests was immediately noticeable, though he tried to put on a pleasant attitude. "What do you two want, Lance?"

"Yo, man, we wanted to see this new guy we'd heard about." He looked right at John. "So you're the new brat at the Institute huh?"

John simply chuckled at Todd's remark. "Brat?" He looked at the unusual looking mutant for a second, then turned his attention back to Lance. "I've been called much worse."

"Yeah, well, you're just lucky you're not a student. If you were, I'd have no problem showing you who's boss."

John noticed as Lance spoke the feint bruising on the left side of his jaw. "You mean like you showed whoever did that to your face?"

Lance's expression changed almost immediately from one of confidence to one of anger. It was obvious that John had hit a nerve with the boy, and Kurt's snickering on the other side of the table definitely wasn't helping.

"Yo, man, what DID happen to you anyway? Who'd kicked your ass during lunch?"

Kurt couldn't help himself as he burst out laughing, causing all attention to turn to him. Kitty already knew it was Kurt who'd hit Lance, but the others were clueless. Todd got the hint and stared at the elf in disbelief. "YOU did that?" Kurt simply nodded, he couldn't stop laughing.

"You're lucky you're hurt, elf, otherwise I'd have you laying on the ground right now!" Lance was definitely losing control of his anger, and John realized the conversation needed to end quickly.

"I don't think you really want to start trouble here... Lance, was it?" Lance began to reply, but shut his mouth quickly as he looked down. John had folded his arms in front of him, and in his right hand was a small fireball, pointed directly at Lance's groin. To anyone else, it would look like John had a lighter in his hand that he'd turned on, but Lance could see the difference.

"I... uh... Todd, we should probably be going now."

"What? But we just got here!" Before Todd could protest any more, Lance had grabbed him by the collar and started leading him away from the group.

"What was that all about?" Jubilee was just as confused as the rest of the mutants at the table.

"I take it those two idiots are in the Brotherhood?"

"Ja, Lance Alvers, he calls himself Avalanche, and Todd Tolansky, Toad." John nodded at Kurt's information. He fell silent for a few seconds after that. "Vat is it?"

"They really aren't that evil. They are susceptible to suggestion, and their loyalty will be to whoever can treat them as they believe they should be treated, but I don't see them as a real threat, at least not on their own."

"It's true, Lance and Todd aren't really evil, though they are mischievous. It's their masters, Mystique and Magneto, that lead them to cause most of their trouble." John nodded to Jubilee.

By that point, the group had all finished their food, and the were ready to go. As they started to leave, something caught John's eye. He pulled the Jeep's keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Kitty. "You three go ahead and I'll meet you at the Jeep. I have one more thing I want to do before I leave." The three nodded and headed for the exit, as John slipped into a shop he'd spotted.

_A/N: It took me a while to get John's story right. I kept thinking on how I wanted it to go, and for much of the planning, I had just the last half of the story being spoken, the rest implied. In the end, I realized it wouldn't make a ton of sense to do it that way, thus the whole story is in here. I MAY revisit the ideas of that story at a future time, though I haven't decided yet._

_Next time, the fallout of Lance, Toad, and John meeting. I'll add another mutant to the brotherhood, and someone from the first story will return._

_As always, please leave a review or a criticism?_


	5. Mystique's Revenge

_A/N: First things first, HAPPY NEW YEAR! To celebrate, I'm giving out a new chapter in my ongoing series! I had actually planned on having this up yesterday, but I didn't get it finished in time. So, this time around, as the chapter indicates, Mystique returns and seeks vengeance on John._

_On a personal note, I've been going through some issues lately, and because of that, I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like. I do intend to get the last two chapters of this story done by the end of January, but that could easily change. After I'm done, I'll be working on my Final Fantasy story for a while before starting "Dark Memories."_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my O/Cs and the storyline._

**Chapter 5 – Mystique's Revenge**

"Yo, man, why'd we have to leave so suddenly?" Todd was hopping along with Lance as they walked back to their flat. The taller mutant stopped and turned to his friend.

"That new mutant, he's like Allerdyce." Todd stopped at this mention and turned to Lance.

"You mean he controls fire?"

"Yeah, and he was threatening something I'd rather not have threatened." Todd caught on quickly and nodded, continuing their journey home. "And I didn't see any source for the fire, either."

"You think he can generate it on his own? Man, that's not good." Lance nodded. For all of Todd's oddities, he was actually pretty smart. Before either of them could speak any more, an explosion was heard nearby. "Yo, what was that, man?"

"If I had to guess..." Lance let the comment hang, and Todd immediately got the idea. The two walked a little bit further in silence, before a new voice was heard.

"What exactly are you two doing out here?" The two boys turned around to see a blond female teen walking toward them. In her hands was a grocery bag.

"We were at the mall, checking out the new guy they have at the mansion." Lance noticed the girl's bag. "What did you do this time, Tabatha?"

Tabatha smiled and pulled a can of soda out of the bag. "I got us some refreshments, since we're all out of drinks at the house."

"It's a shame they don't sell beer in vending machines." Lance lamented as they continued their journey toward the boardinghouse.

"You three ready to go?" John had only been away a few minutes, and the three were actually a bit surprised to see him so quickly.

"Ja, we're ready, John." Kurt nodded. Kitty had already opened the door to the Jeep and was waiting for everyone else to get in.

"So, like, what did you do in there?" Jubilee's question caused John to smirk slightly.

"I just decided to get one more item before I left. But since they had to order it, they'll ship it to the Institute for me." He looked around at the three assembled. Kurt and Jubilee were both wondering what it was he'd ordered, while Kitty was looking bored and annoyed, and ready to leave. "Whenever you want to go, go." John told her. As the young mutant pulled out of the parking lot, the other two realized John wasn't going to tell what he'd secretly gotten, they'd just have to wait until it arrived.

The ride back to the mansion was mostly filled with idle conversation. A few questions were asked regarding John's story about his childhood friend, some of which John readily answered, others he avoided or said he couldn't remember. The truth was he hadn't thought about the friends and family he'd had before being kidnapped in a long time. Some of those memories and thoughts were a little hard for him to uncover, and he tried to avoid those areas. John did note, however, that Kitty's mood had improved since they had arrived at the mall, particularly during their dinner and the trip back to the Institute. He could tell that she was still heavily bothered by something, though, and realized that he needed to find out what.

The kids headed into the mansion first, with John following behind. Kitty and Kurt went upstairs to put their things away, as did John, but it wasn't long before the older mutant found himself in the basement working on a computer. John was researching Kitty, wondering what had her so upset. He knew already that whatever was bothering her had come from her hometown, and he had started his search there. Knowing what he already did, it didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. As he stared at the screen reading it, he suddenly realized why she was upset. He printed off the article, deleted the browser history, and shut down the computer, his training suddenly kicking in on instinct.

"Naw, man, that guy didn't have anything worth stealing." The three Brotherhood members had been discussing the day's events, and Todd was currently telling them about a guy he'd seen in the mall.

"So why'd you jump him?" Lance had seen the whole incident, though Todd had tried to be stealthy about it.

"He looked like he had some money or something, but all he had was a bunch of bags with worthless items in them." Prior to meeting with John and the others, Todd had jumped a guy in a relatively isolated part of the mall. He'd attempted to rob him, but realize the man didn't have anything of value, so he hopped off before he could get arrested.

"Yeah, well, Christmas is coming in about a month, so it's going to be more difficult to get anything of value, you should know that by now, Toad." Lance had to give his friend some grief over the trouble he'd caused.

"Yeah yeah, I know that but..." Todd had stopped short as the three had come to the entrance to the boarding house they lived in. "Hey, Tabby, did you leave the house unlocked when you left?"

"What? No, of course I locked it, you idiot!" Tabitha started to go after the smaller mutant, but stopped when she realized what he was pointing out; the front door to their home had been left wide open. The three mutants immediately ran into the house, only to be stopped cold by a voice coming from the living room.

"It's about time you three got here." Sitting on a couch in the living room was Mystique. She was sporting a pair of sunglasses on her face, despite the fact that it was now dark outside. "Where were you losers at, anyway?"

"Yo, Mystique, we were at the mall scoping out that new guy they got at the Institute!" At Toad's explanation, Mystique's expression and demeanor changed from one similar to a scolding parent to one of pure anger.

"You met John Kerogi? Good, that will save some time." Mystique's face became that of a sneer, as Lance decided he needed to speak up now.

"You look like shit Mystique, and you've been gone for over a week. What happened to you?"

Mystique removed her sunglasses at Lance's question, revealing that her eyes had been bandaged shut. "John Kerogi happened." She stood up, pulling out a cane to use as she walked blindly toward Lance and the others. "And you three are going to help me get revenge on him."

Tabitha had been silent during the conversation, but she smirked when she realized what Mystique was asking. "You want us to help destroy one of those X-punks? I'm all for it!"

Lance sighed. He knew this probably wasn't going to end well. "And just how do you expect us to do that? If he beat you he must be a somewhat decent fighter."

Mystique stopped and looked at Lance, or at least she did her best to. "He is well trained, yes. One on one he's more than a handful. However the three of you together should be able to put him down. You may need leverage, though."

"Leverage? You mean like his girlfriend or something?" Todd was practically hopping around the group, excited to actually be able to contribute something for once.

Mystique sighed in annoyance. "What is it, Toad?"

"Well, he was pretty close to Jubilee while they were at the mall..." Todd stood there pleased with himself, as a smile appeared on Mystique's face.

The next morning, Logan and Charles were discussing various things. "You're still having trouble finding him, aren't you?"

"Eric is well aware of how to stay invisible when it comes to Cerebro. The fact that I've been able to track him as far as Europe is quite surprising."

"You don't know what he's doing there?" Logan wasn't comfortable with the idea of Magneto running unchecked, but he knew there wasn't much that could be done about it.

The professor simply shook his head. "No, I don't." He sighed and looked out the window behind his desk. "At this point, all we can do is sit and wait."

Logan didn't need to be psychic to know his old friend's activities weren't the only thing bothering him. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Charles turned back around, looking at Wolverine. "There has been tension in the air ever since John arrived last week. I know that Kitty has been angry with him, but I think there's something else going on with her, as well."

"There is, Logan." John's presence had somehow managed to go unnoticed by Wolverine, which he found somewhat shocking. The younger mutant simply nodded as he walked past him and handed a paper to Charles.

"What is it, Bub?" Logan didn't like being interrupted, and he knew that Charles probably didn't either. John should know better, so whatever he'd found it was probably important.

"It's a news article from Chicago. John pulled it off the internet. So that's what the phone call was about." Kitty had received a call late Saturday night, which John had answered. Other than the two of them, only Professor Xavier knew of the call, though nobody knew what it was about. Nobody saw Katherine the rest of the evening, and on Sunday she had barely come out of her room. "The information on here is accurate?" Charles handed the paper to Logan, who started reading it as well.

"As far as I can find." John didn't look particularly thrilled about what he'd found, though he seemed to be a bit relieved. Before either could comment, Logan crumpled up the paper, growling and, as the psychics could hear, mentally cursing the news. "If it is all right with you two, I would like to be the one to speak to her about this. That way, if she reacts badly to it, she already hates me, so there won't be any damage done."

Charles nodded. "You may speak with her after dinner about it. But please, John, try to be careful."

John nodded. "I will be as careful as I can." With that, he turned and walked out of the study, leaving the two elder mutants alone.

"You know, Chuck, him talking to her instead of us may do more damage than good."

"I know that, Logan, but at this point, what choice do we have? He is right about not doing any more damage to their relationship than has already been done." The psychic mutant sighed, and looked down again. "Besides, we still have other things to worry about."

"Not just Magneto?"

"No, I believe John is right, someone is manipulating him. If that's the case, we may be in for a much larger problem than we're currently prepared for."

"You think John knows more about what's happening than he lets on?"

"No, at least not for certain. He's more aware of the situation than he lets on, but in reality, most of his thoughts are just guesses like ours are. The only difference is his have be benefit of experiences we don't have."

"So his are more accurate."

"Indeed, but they are still just guesses. He could easily be wrong. I just don't believe he is."

"That's not a comforting thought, Chuck." With nothing more to say, Logan excused himself and left the room. Both mutants had things to tend to, and there wasn't anything left to discuss at this time.

It was just after 2:30 in the afternoon as Jubilee walked down the hallway of the school, heading for the exit. As was her usual schedule, she left after her 1:45 class ended, heading wherever for the afternoon, rather than sitting in a study hall until the final bell at about 3:15. She started down the sidewalk, heading toward the shopping center that was nearby. By the time she'd gotten half a block away from the school, however, she was grabbed from behind, a cloth placed over her face. Quickly, she began losing consciousness, her surprise and the immediate suffocating effects of the cloth making her unable to accurately fight back.

After a few minutes' struggle, she fell limply against her attacker, who pulled out a cell phone, speaking to someone. "It's Tabatha. I have her, bring the van around." Hanging up the phone, it wasn't even a minute before a black van pulled around the corner, the side door opening as it stopped next to the two mutants. Tabatha drug the unconscious X-Man into the van, shutting the door as Lance drove away. Because she was in the back with their hostage, Tabatha didn't notice the scowl on Lance's face. Although he wasn't going to argue with Mystique, he really didn't like this idea at all.

It was nearly 6 PM by the time Kurt and Kitty had arrived back at the mansion. Both of them were trying out for the track team in the spring, and had decided that they needed to practice with the others who would be trying out. As such, they'd been in the school's gym for two hours after school ended, with Ororo having picked them up when they called for a ride.

When they entered the mansion, John was in the living room waiting for them. "Hey, Kitty, can I talk to you?" The two teens traded glances, wondering what was going on. John had asked the question in a manner that was almost apologetic, rather than his usual aggressive tone. Deciding that they were curious as to what was going on, they both walked into the living room.

"Hey, John, something on your mind?" Kurt asked quickly, before Kitty could say anything.

"Actually, there is..." He paused for a second, glancing between the two. "I don't know if she wants you to hear this discussion, though."

Now Kitty was confused. If John wanted to discuss what had happened a week ago, Kurt had every right to hear what they were going to say. There was nothing else that had happened between them that John would know about, unless... "What is it you wanted to discuss?" Despite the confusion and the curiosity, her tone was aggressive, surprising John slightly.

John opened his mouth to answer her question, but before he could say anything, Logan walked into the room. "Oh, sorry, kids. Didn't know you were back." He stopped and looked around the room. "Has anyone seen Jubilee? She was supposed to be in the Danger Room for training at 7, but she doesn't seem to be on the grounds."

"No, Logan, I haven't seen her since lunch." Kurt's reply was almost immediate, which wasn't surprising to anyone.

"She skips out of school early since she has study hall last hour, but I haven't seen her since our last class together." Kitty shrugged. "She probably went to the mall again to look for cute guys and lost track of time. I bet she'll be coming through the door any minute now."

Almost on cue, the doorbell rang, sending Logan and John both toward the mansion's main entrance. Wolverine arrived first, opening it up and revealing an extremely nervous teenager in a delivery uniform. "Uh... is this the Xavier Institute?"

"Yeah, it is, bub, but we aren't expecting any deliveries tonight."

"Uh... no, you probably aren't." The teen shifted uncomfortably. "I was approached by a guy about an hour ago and asked to bring something here as soon as possible."

"All right, what is it?"

"Uh, well, I was instructed to only give it to a John Kerogi or a Charles Xavier. I was also told to make sure that both of them were aware of the package."

"Why them?"

Logan's voice had its trademark anger and annoyance in it, and this did nothing to help the teen's fears. John noticed simply by watching that the young man seemed almost ready to wet himself. In order to prevent any more embarrassment, he tapped Logan on the shoulder and stepped between the two, pulling out his driver's license. "I'm John Kerogi. I'll take the package and make sure that Charles knows about it."

The teen looked at the license and handed John a small box. "Here you are, then. Good night." He didn't even wait for a reply, he just hurried back to his fan and drove off. The two mutants watched him go before closing the door and turning to each other.

"What was that all about?" Kitty and Kurt, the elder mutants suddenly realized, had seen and heard the whole conversation, and were now just as curious as they were.

"I don't know, Kitty, but we're going to find out now. The Professor's in his study?"

"Yeah, I just left him ten minutes ago." Logan started for the steps with the others following behind.

Charles looked up as the four mutants entered his room. Realizing that they were here for a reason he suddenly frowned slightly. "What's going on?"

"We just got a special delivery with you and John's name on it, Chuck." Logan motioned toward the other adult in the room, who approached the desk with the box. Charles took the box and opened it up, revealing inside it was a video tape. "What..." Unable to finish the sentence, and not needing to, really, he turned and put the tape into the player on his TV, turning it on.

After a few seconds of static, the picture formed. On the TV was Jubilee, seemingly unconscious and tied up, sitting in a chair. Standing on either side of her were Tabatha and Lance. Lance was the first to speak up. "Is it on this time, Toad?"

"Yeah, man, it's running now." Todd's answer came from off camera, which meant that he was probably recording the video, though as soon as he spoke, he came bounding from behind it into the picture frame. He ended up turning and facing the camera, standing between Lance and Tabatha, and in front of Jubilee. Once he was in position, Lance began speaking.

"Hey, John. As you can see, we have your girlfriend. Don't worry, we don't want to hurt her, it's you we're after." As he spoke, John noticed the mood in the room changing drastically, Kitty and Kurt were getting enraged, as was Logan. The professor was also upset, but he was more concerned than anything. He let his thoughts go for now as he focused on the video. "We want to see you tonight at eleven at the construction site on Westlake Drive."

Tabatha took the opportunity to speak up now. "If you don't show up, we will kill her. If you bring ANYONE with you, we will kill her. See you in a few hours!"

Tabatha finished speaking and smiled at the camera, a smile which made the teens' blood run cold. Kitty turned her attention to John, and spat at him angrily. "You said they were harmless, that they would cause mischief but not really hurt anyone. Does THIS look like they don't want to really hurt anyone?" She began to storm out of the room, with Kurt following behind.

John looked at her for a second, then back at the video, which was still playing. Something wasn't right about this. "Katherine, stop!" Kitty paused in the doorway and turned around, her attention back on the video, as on it Jubilee had woken up and kicked Todd into the camera, causing the video to become distorted.

"Aww, man, she wrecked the camera, Mystique!"

"It doesn't matter, you idiots. You have your orders, get to work!" And as soon as the blue skinned mutant was done talking, the video ended.

The five watching the video had a range of reactions to it. Charles' concern had doubled at the revelation that Raven was the one responsible for this plot. Kurt and Kitty realized that John had been right, at least partially, when he said that they wouldn't do something truly evil on their own. Logan's reaction was a bit surprising, however. For the first time in a long time, he had no idea what to do. "So now what happens?"

John simply looked at Logan and spoke his mind. "I go meet them."

_A/N: Yeah, this ending is a bit abrupt, but I like it. I'll have the group discussing further what to do about Jubilee's kidnapping next chapter, but John WILL get his way in the end, otherwise what kind of story would this be? Also, either next chapter or in the one after that, we will finally find out what happened in Chicago that got Kitty all upset._

_Please leave a review or comment! I want to know what you like about my stories, and what you don't like about them too!_


	6. An Author's Note

I suppose I owe everyone who reads these stories an apology, and an explanation, for the lack of updates. First off, I'd like to say that this notice is being posted in both the Final Fantasy XIII story and the X-Men Evolution one.

I have an interesting problem with my writing. The problem is that what I write appears to me inside my head in the form of a movie. That is, inside my head, it's as if I'm watching it, directing it, but my control over what I see is somewhat limited. Unfortunately, that movie projector doesn't shut off when I step away from the computer. My mind is filled with images, scenes from the various stories that are floating around in my head.

The problem that arises is that because the scenes continue to play themselves out in my head, I end up with my mind being ahead of my writing. This is what happened seven months ago. I was trying to write Chapter 20 of the Final Fantasy story while my brain was showing me Chapter 35 or so. When I tried to turn around and go back, to rewind, I slammed head first into a creative brick wall. It's taken me a while to get around that wall, or through it, whatever you prefer. And now that I have, two new stories have taken up residence in my head.

I will continue writing. In fact, I have the next two chapters of the Final Fantasy story almost ready, I just need to re-edit them. In the meantime, I have decided to take an approach I've seen other writers mention. I will not post a chapter until the next chapter in the story is ready to go. That is, for example, I have two chapters nearly ready for Final Fantasy, but I won't even post the first until the second is ready. The exception to this is the X-Men one, of which the current story only has two chapters left. They will be posted as soon as they are ready, and I'll start this rule with the third story.

I hope this helps to explain my absence from posting, and to let you know I'm still here, I'm still working. I hope those of you who are fans of my stories continue to have patience, and stay with them, they will be updated again eventually. I also hope that you read my two new stories.

Oh, one more thing before I go. I am going to re-rate the stories I have, since they really fit the T rating rather than the M one. I may change the Final Fantasy story back to M eventually, though I haven't decided yet.

To Silver: Yeah, I'm sorry it's taking so long, I hope this helps to explain my lack of updates. I would have replied to you personally, but apparently you aren't a member, thus I can't do so.

To Etheral-23: There will be action between Light and Zion, though the initial action may not be what you're looking for.

Also, would it HURT to get some reviews on Brotherhood? I'd like to know that people are at least enjoying the story!


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